Dust
by emptyfortunecookie
Summary: After watching season 1 and 2 of Vampire Knight I was terribly disappointed, but here's how I want to wrap up the series. This is old and I edited it up a bit and slapped it on here. Just for fun. Spoiler alert.


The night was alive with the smell of spring. Lavender, lilac, and roses made wave upon intoxicating wave of aromas that blanketed the otherwise dusky atmosphere. The nighttime stars carved out a path toward heaven that only those blessed with wings could reach, but she didn't care. She enjoyed it all the same.

The wind slithered in gently behind her, tousling her hair like a long lost lover. She couldn't help but curl up next to a giant oak and listen to the sounds of the night. How had she ever slept when all this beauty could be seen? It was so warm, so comfortable, so temporary yet familiar.

No. That familiarity, that wasn't the sensation, that was a scent. Blood. Mingled blood, and an aura of anger and pain. How could she not have heard that approach?

Quickly Yuuki turned, not to flee, but to face him head on. His hair was longer now, she liked that though she wasn't sure exactly why. He seemed to have grown somehow as well. His shoulders had filled out more, as had his face. His eyes were still the same though. Those never changed.

The Bloody Rose was raised in his right hand, aimed directly at her heart.

"Zero," she whispered, though not in fear. A smile danced across her pale, delicate features. "So, you've finally come."

"It would seem so," he replied. There was no trace of emotion on his face, but his eyes were screaming relentlessly. Yuuki could not help her smile. Some things never changed. "I did make a promise after all. I intend to keep it."

Yuuki blinked.

"You're being cruel, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you somehow insinuating that I failed to keep my promise?"

"Well, I am a vampire, and I'm still here. So I guess you did fail to keep your promise, Zero-kun."

His finger danced across the hammer and brought it down.

"Please do not refer to me so informally."

"But why? …I'm still the same."

"You are not. You are not my Yuuki anymore."

Slowly she lowered her head, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Truth be told, if you think about it, I never was. I guess I always belonged to someone else." She looked up, a single tear falling from her eyes. "Who did you belong to, all this time, Zero?"

A flash of surprise hit his countenance. The question has thrown him off guard. Yuuki didn't mean for it to. She certainly had no intention of tricking him so that she can run away. This was it. This was her end, and she had accepted it the minute Zero uttered those words to her so many years ago.

Shaking his head, Zero straightened his arm. The Bloody Rose is still aimed towards her heart.

"Where is Kaname?"

"He is not here."

It was the truth. He could tell from her eyes.

"He left you alone?"

"I ran away."

Another flash of surprise.

"Why?"

"Because I knew you were coming. I wanted to meet you."

"Knowing that I would kill you?"

She said nothing, only nodded.

"You always were a fool, Yuuki."

Now she can smile. The tears are still falling. From across the way, she senses that he is shedding some as well. He doesn't want to do this, but he has to. He must justify his promise to himself.

"I was a fool for loving two men at the same time," she admitted brashly. "One I could never love after learning the truth about him, and the other could not love me after learning about my truth. Even though he said he could never hate me…"

The Rose falters.

"….Yuuki."

"Its all right," she said with a wide, familiar smile that drove daggers into his heart. She can see it on his face. "All hearts waver. Nothing is ever unconditional, am I right?"

All he can do is nod.

"I just want you to know, Zero, that no matter what happens, even if you pull that trigger…I will still love you."

"You were always a fool," he repeated as much to himself as to her.

"I know." She can't help but smile. "But before you finish, Zero, I just want to know one thing."

"What?"

"Why did you take so long?"

***

"Why did you take so long?"

Her head dropped slightly to the side, and there was that familiar, beautiful smile. This was Yuuki. There she was, right there in front of him. But she never was Yuuki. Or, more accurately, she had never been _his_ Yuuki. He had been deceived. The vampires had taken something else from him…only it had never really been his to begin with…how unforgivable. Humans were vampires' play things. Zero had always been the victim. He was tired of it. This was to be his first true step toward separating himself from that position. He could not stop here.

"I had other jobs."

Her smile widened with a lighthearted chuckle, bringing an unearthly light to those beautiful eyes.

"You hesitated. You can't lie to me, Zero. I see right through you."

He smiled. He simply couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I hesitated. I told myself you might still be the same person."

"The person I never was to you."

"Yes." I'm sorry Yuuki. Or am I?

"Zero?"

"Yes?"

"If I had stayed a human…could you have loved me?"

They were now inches apart. He didn't remember ever crossing the distance he had purposely placed between them. Maybe he hadn't. Maybe she'd walked to him, maybe they'd walked toward each other. It didn't matter. He could feel the muzzle of the gun pressed against her chest, just next to her heart that beat ever so slowly. There was still warmth in her eyes, in her smile too.

He hated it.

"Yes."

Her arms lifted and wrapped around the back of his head. Slowly, he succumbed to her demand. Their lips met, and for a minute, Zero forgot who he was, forgot where he was. He squeezed back with all of his strength.

And the warmth of her body and softness of her lips became nothing more than dust on the wind.


End file.
